Friday's Unscientific Poll: Eating raw pasta: Is it a toddler thing?

[nanila]

One of the oddest things Humuhumu asks for is to eat a piece of raw dried pasta (fusilli, usually).

All of her teeth have come in, so I don't think she's doing it because it feels great on her gums. She will also eat cooked pasta, but she seems to think that the raw stuff is a special treat. I'm curious to know if this is a common thing, as I don't recall ever thinking that raw dried pasta was tasty, or for that matter, raw fresh pasta. Thus, today's Unscientific Poll!

Poll #17071 Raw pasta

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 35

View Respondents

Eating raw dried pasta?

View Answers

Yum
14 (40.0%)

No thank you
21 (60.0%)

Eating raw fresh pasta?

View Answers

Yum
12 (35.3%)

No thank you
22 (64.7%)

Comments

[caulkhead]

I'd say no (and have), but I know someone who eats it like crisps.

[kaberett]

This was absolutely something I (and my brothers) did.

[ankaret]

My little brother used to do that. I tried it once but couldn't see the appeal.

[yvi]

I had no idea that's even a thing people do...

[weaverbird]

I ate dried pasta as a kid - I liked the crunch. Now, not so much. *g*

[antisoppist]

Son aged 11 eats it raw if he's in the kitchen and the packet is open while I'm cooking it but it's not something he actively seeks out. Small Daughter aged 8 eats plain cooked pasta with nothing on it as her preferred meal if given a choice but does not eat it raw.

ETA I first encountered pasta when I went to university in 1986 so am useless as a childhood data point.

[redsixwing]

Raw fresh pasta == amazing to chew on. Raw dried pasta is passable and crunchy and I will chew it if I'm in the right mood.

I totally ate raw dried pasta as a kid. Dried package ramen noodles were, for whatever reason, the best for the purpose.

[legionseagle]

I did it with macaroni when I was a kid. It does interesting texture change things as you suck it.

[pbristow]

Same here. =:o}

[happydork]

Raw dried pasta -- a lot when I was a kid, now only occasionally when I don't notice I'm doing it.

Raw fresh pasta -- OH MY GOD I WANT IT ALL IN MY MOUTH NOW

[alwayswondered]

I've never eaten raw fresh pasta and am unlikely to try it now, but if it had been around when I was a kid, I totally would have eaten it. My sister and I used to snack on raw dried pasta all the time.

[azurelunatic]

Likewise.

[cxcvi]

I don't think I've ever had raw fresh pasta. Never been close enough to fresh pasta in raw form to even try.

Raw dry pasta... it looks too hard and crunchy.

Raw dry noodles, however, yes. I've eaten them straight out of the packet before. Would do again if lack of kettle.

[omnipotent]

It's unusual, but I like to suck on raw dried pasta until it softens a bit and then crunch it.

Raw fresh pasta is bland, but I'll eat it.

[adeliej]

I eat raw dried pasta now, as an adult, as a snack-ish eating because bored food. Never had any exposure to fresh pasta.

[ironed_orchid]

I remember doing it occasionally as a kid.

[fred_mouse]

It was a Thing when I was a kid - regardless of whose parent was cooking, if they were cooking spaghetti, every kid wanted a piece. Probably to age eight or ten? At least, that is my memory of it. And I spent a lot of time in other people's kitchens. I don't remember any other kind of pasta, or pasta being cooked at home, and I didn't know about fresh pasta until I was an adult.

[nanila]

I can understand this from a texture perspective, but from a flavour perspective, I'd prefer crisps.

[nanila]

Huh! I wonder what starts it off. It happened out of the blue for Humuhumu - she just pointed at the jar and asked for a piece one day.

[nanila]

I tried it after Humuhumu did it the first time and didn't get it either!

[nanila]

Apparently it is, and it's not uncommon. I have learnt something from my unscientific poll!

[holyschist]

I loved raw soba noodles when I was a kid, wouldn't eat them now. Raw fresh pasta is the food of the goods and I will devour it. The best part of making pasta from scratch is cutting extra trimmings off and eating it. :D My mom feels the same and she's 65.

[nanila]

I have sympathy with Small Daughter. I really like plain cooked pasta too, but for some reason feel funny about eating it in front of other people so will just sneak a piece or two when I've just cooked it.

[nanila]

Dried ramen noodles! I'm going to try that. I tried the fusilli and it didn't do anything for me.

[nanila]

Ah! I haven't tried raw macaroni. I will do the experiment with Humuhumu the next time I make some.

[nanila]

When I made this poll, I had no idea it'd turn out to be relatively common. I'd genuinely never seen anyone do it before Humuhumu did!

[nanila]

Did you crunch straight through it, or did you mumble it around for a while letting the texture change? I'm curious because Humuhumu bites a piece in half and crunches through the first bit, and then she pops the second bit in her mouth and seems to roll it around for quite a while before it disappears.

[nanila]

I haven't tried raw dry noodles before, which is shocking given how frequently I have eaten and cooked noodles in my life. I'm going to try them next time I make them. Do you prefer egg noodles or wheat noodles?

[nanila]

I confess I rather like plain cooked pasta with nothing on it. I always sneak a piece or two before I put any sort of sauce on it (or even just a bit of olive oil).

[nanila]

Thank you for adding your data! I had no idea it would turn out to be a common/popular snack.

[nanila]

I'm pretty sure I never tried it. This may also have been because my mom rarely cooked pasta - she almost always opted for rice as the starchy component of a meal.

[nanila]

Getting to the end of replying to comments on this thread has made me realise that I might not have tried raw dried pasta because my mom used it so rarely. She almost always served rice or, occasionally, noodles, with our meals.

[nanila]

I am intrigued by raw soba noodles and will try the experiment the next time I have an opportunity.

[ironed_orchid]

We had macaroni and cheese (made from scratch, not the packet kind), and later spaghetti bolognase. The 80s were a bleak time for cooking.

[cxcvi]

Whichever kind is in those instant noodles packs.

[fred_mouse]

Ooh, yes, instant noodles - much cheaper than crisps when I was a starving uni student. And the flavour sachets were then stock for something else!

[fred_mouse]

I'm trying to work out what our go-to food must have been. Other than egg based meals, and bean based meals, neither of which were every day, I can't think of what we ate. I don't remember pasta or rice, potatoes were roasted once a week at most, and bread was baked for lunches and not eaten at dinner. But there must have been something! Salads in summer, but that isn't enough to keep a teenager running, and I wasn't a small eater.